Swimwear has evolved over the years from garments which primarily functioned to preserve the modesty of the bather to clothing which permits exposure to the limits of public decency. A natural consequence of this evolution is that consumer demands concerning swimsuits, especially from women, require that the suit enhance and highlight the more appealing aspects the female silhouette.
In order to enhance one's appearance while wearing a swimsuit, clothing designers have designed swimsuits with an outer garment covering an inner liner made from a spandex material. U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,172 discloses a swimsuit having an inner garment which completely engirdles the body, formed by a spandex-type material, and an outer garment which performs no figure control function. The inner garment is in part elastic and acts to firm up the stomach and otherwise perform a figure control function. This same inner liner presses against the chest and tends to flatten out a woman's figure, a result that often is not desirable. Additionally, stress to the fabric of the liner may be greater in a vertical direction after the wearer bends over or sits down. This additional stress on the liner tends to cause the liner's figure control function to diminish.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,605,469 attempts to deal with the problem of achieving figure control with an elastic liner while causing the breasts to uplift. This patent provides breast cups reinforced by arcuate braces to support the woman's breast. The brace-reinforced breast cups serve as a brassier and may be padded. Such a system may be useful in foundation garments worn under a dress, but are too bulky for a swimsuit.
Bust supporting devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,890,507 and 2,428,175. Both discloses exhibit independent means, without any elastic inner liner, for lifting the breasts, but do not function in conjunction with any figure control function.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,279,222 attempts to provide a snug form fitting suit with front panels for supporting the breasts. The front inner liner covers the breast and is sewn within the outer garment perimeter. Such design supports the breast, but restricts the natural appearance of upper body movement.
As fashion in swimwear moves towards greater exposure of the body, women have required that such garments display their physical attributes in the most flattering light possible. Ideally, swimwear must allow freedom of movement, give a natural appearance, but direct the curvature of one's silhouette in a flattering fashion. The present invention achieves this goal by providing a swimsuit design comprising an inner liner which engirdles the figure and flattens out abdominal bulge, but which does not flatten the breast curvature. The breasts are supported in a manner emphasizing an "au naturelle" appearance.
More particularly, the present invention comprises an inner liner garment of elastic contruction and material which serves primarily to insure figure control. The liner is generally made from elastic material such as spandex and engirdles the torso. The stretch of the spandex is designed to be greater in the lateral direction than in a vertical direction, allowing ease of movement, for example, when bending over. The liner is tighter and smaller than the outer garment, and is sewn to the outer garment along their common perimeters. The outer bathing garment is a single ply of elastic construction covering the loin as well as the area of the breasts. The outer garment is free from padding and may be sewn to form a one-piece construction which joins a front breast covering portion to a back panel by a pair of adjustable shoulder straps.
The top edge of the inner liner meets the underside of the breast. Only the corners of this breast bordered edge are sewn to the outer garment; most of the upper edge of the inner liner is not sewn to the outer garment. Along the top arcuate edge of the inner liner, stays are securely disposed to form a supporting arc to hammock and uplift the breasts. The arcuate stays are passed into a pair of sheaths, each sheath bordering the underside of a breast. The sheaths are padded along their length to form a cushioned material for contacting the underside of the breasts. In such a manner, the inner liner drives unwanted abdominal bulges upwardly to supplement the breast curvature, while the breasts remain free from the confinements of the inner liner and are thrust upward and outward against the outer liner, hammocked by the arcuate stays of the inner liner edge, pressing outwardly and freely for a flattering natural appearance.